Soccer

Rangers concerned by ‘draconian’ police approach at Nice game

The club said ‘supporters’ safety was jeopardised’ by the security operation at the game.

Rangers have criticsed the treatment of their fans in Nice (Laurent Cipriani/AP)
Rangers have criticsed the treatment of their fans in Nice (Laurent Cipriani/AP) (Laurent Cipriani/AP)
By PA Sport Staff

Rangers have criticised the “draconian security operation” at Nice following their 4-1 Europa League win in the French port city on Thursday night.

The Scottish Premiership club said they are “deeply concerned over several unacceptable incidents” and that the local police’s “heavy-handed tactics” caused travelling supporters “serious distress”.

A Rangers statement read: “Rangers FC is deeply concerned over several unacceptable incidents in Nice last night where our supporters’ safety was jeopardised.

“For some weeks now, the club has engaged with UEFA, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and the local French authorities, with intelligence suggesting this match had potential to be problematic based on the experiences of other visiting clubs.

“Despite that significant work, our supporters were badly let down by the draconian security operation imposed by the local authorities being poorly organised and executed. This operation was changed on several occasions with no prior warning given to Rangers staff on the ground.”

It has been reported that some Rangers fans were sent emails by Nice telling them that their tickets had been cancelled after being inadvertently allocated in home seating, without further explanation.

Rangers added: “Much of the communication provided to Rangers in advance also proved to be incorrect, with items such as power banks taken for storage during the match.

“The heavy-handed tactics used by the local police force were also unwarranted and caused serious distress for many of our supporters.

“The club remains in dialogue with UEFA and FSE, and is inviting supporters affected by events last night to contact SLO@rangers.co.uk with details, images and video footage.

“The club want to put on record our thanks to our supporters for their backing last night, and for their patience as these issues were dealt with.”

No incidents of crowd trouble were reported after Rangers had secured their third win in the Europa League this season to climb up to eighth in the revamped table.

The PA news agency understands UEFA is liaising with the FSE’s joint away fans working group on the issues Rangers have raised.